Naples Grape Festival events spread over two weekends: What to know for 2022

Mike Murphy, MPNnow
·4 min read

NAPLES, NY — You can almost sense the aroma of grape pie in the air.

But as longtime fans know, there is more to the Naples Grape Festival, which dates back to the late 1800s, than grape pie. The annual event this year will be held the weekend of Sept. 24-25 at the Naples Memorial Hall Park on Main Street.

But this weekend, a series of community events — including parade and fireworks — are scheduled as a way for local residents to also celebrate the grape harvest, according to Tom Hawks II, who is one of the event organizers.

This will be the first time the harvest will be celebrated over two weekends. Thousands upon thousands of visitors typically flood Naples for the historic two-day festival.

"Which is great. We want that," Hawks said. "We also wanted to have something for our residents who also celebrate this time of year. The two-weekend format is really cool."

Think of it this way: Community events with a focus on Naples residents this weekend, and the historic festival — including vendors — next weekend.

If you go, here’s more of what you should expect.

Naples Grape Festival activities start Friday

Again this year, the World's Greatest Grape Pie Contest will take place during the Naples Grape Festival on Sept. 24-25. In this file photo, Bruce Scott auctions off grape pies.
Again this year, the World's Greatest Grape Pie Contest will take place during the Naples Grape Festival on Sept. 24-25. In this file photo, Bruce Scott auctions off grape pies.

When you have a great grape festival, why not offer more?

A fireworks extravaganza is planned for Friday, Sept. 16, on the front lawn of Hazlitt’s Red Cat Cellars. Grab a blanket, bring some chairs, and have a picnic starting at 6:30 p.m. A food truck, novelties and Hazlitt Winery will be there along with local musicians.

Welcome the return of the Naples Grape Festival parade, with marchers set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 (the start time has been corrected from an earlier version of this story). The parade will include the festival king and queen, who will be crowned in front of the Naples Hotel and ride a float along the Main Street route. Then from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, enjoy the music of local FLX Music shop owner Rick Constantino and his band ICKS and Jack Jones and the Stid Hill Stompers. A street dance also starts at 6 p.m.

The newly opened Engine 14 Brewery on West Avenue in Naples will host the first home winemaker’s competition at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, followed by a chili cook-off at 3 p.m. So far, eight contestants have entered the wine competition and 18 are in the cook-off.

"That’s really turning out to be exciting," Hawks said.

The neat thing is, many of the businesses made donations to help pull off these free events for residents, Hawks said.

Attractions at the Naples Grape Festival

As always, guests can explore arts and crafts by local artists and listen to music by top regional musicians and bands when the two-day event begins Sept. 24.

Visitors can enjoy the Grape Country Family Park, kids' zone, interactive wellness, a raffle for a day on the lake, and more.

The kid and family activities came about after a survey asked people what they wanted in addition to what they've come to expect traditionally at the festival, Hawks said. These can be found near the high school.

Food and drink at the Naples Grape Festival

The Inspire Moore wine tent is a hopping place during the Naples Grape Festival, which takes places Sept. 24-25.
The Inspire Moore wine tent is a hopping place during the Naples Grape Festival, which takes places Sept. 24-25.

When you go to the festival, bring an appetite and a thirst. Visitors can taste a wide selection of regional cuisines and sample Finger Lakes wines, craft beers, and distilled liquor in the Brahm-Moore Beverage Garden.

Maybe you have what it takes to enter and win the World’s Greatest Grape Pie Contest. If you don’t, you can sample pies from famous bakers in Naples. And, take home a pie or two — it's your cheat day.

Did you know?

Featured artist Darryl Abraham, a Naples native, designed the Naples Grape Festival 2022 T-shirts and poster, which are available for sale at select retail locations, all community events, and the festival itself.

The Naples Grape Festival is organized by the Naples Grape and Arts Festival LLC, which is owned by the Naples Rotary Club. All of the festival proceeds are reinvested into the Naples community with a focus on preserving its past and giving to the next generation of Neapolitans, Hawks said. 

For more information

For more information, entry forms for the wine, chili and grape pie competitions, history of the event, parking, maps and more, visit naplesgrapefest.org and follow on facebook.com/naplesgrapefestival.

This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Naples Grape Festival 2022: What you need to know